The speaker of the Parliament of Finland (Finnish eduskunnan puhemies, Swedish riksdagens talman), along with two deputy speakers, is elected by Parliament during the first plenary session each year. Speakers are chosen for a year at a time. In addition to their preparing the work in plenary sessions the speakers also play a key role in Parliament's international co-operation, which includes visits by speakers and international delegations as well as participation in numerous interparliamentary organisations.
The speaker and two deputy speakers are elected by parliament from among its members by secret ballot. After the election the speaker and deputy speakers each make the following solemn affirmation before Parliament:
"I, ..., affirm that in my office as speaker I will to the best of my ability defend the rights of the people, parliament and the government of Finland according to the Constitution."
Formally, the speaker ranks second in the protocol, after the president of Finland and before the prime minister of Finland. The speaker is the chairman of the parliament, who grants the floor for speeches and replies, makes voting proposals and decides on the final order of business. An interim speaker is elected for the duration of government formation talks. The speaker's duties are defined in the Constitution of Finland and the parliament's rules of procedure.
The title puhemies or talman has, both in Finnish and Swedish, the literal meaning 'spokesman', which has caused mild controversies in terms of sexism in language. However, according to official language authorities, the title is not easy to change to a more gender-neutral alternative due to its "strong connection to the institution and history of the Parliament".
If there is a tie in the Speaker's Council the speaker is given a tie-breaking vote.
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Political conventions
Election conventions
The speaker as well as deputy speakers are elected in a secret ballot vote where they must receive a majority of the vote. By convention the position of speaker is held by a senior member of parliament from the second largest party in government. The position of first deputy speaker traditionally goes to a senior parliamentarian from the largest party in government. The role of second deputy speaker traditionally belongs to a member of the largest party in parliament that did not receive the speakership or first deputy speakership.
This convention usually manifests in elections to the position with lobsided majorities, but sometimes the results are tighter. As an example in 2024 the current speaker, Jussi Halla-Aho, was elected with a reduced majority as a political protest. A record low result was reached in 2011 by then speaker Sauli Niinistö when he was re-elected with just 89 votes. As a result he expressed intent to resign, but did not in the end do so after consultation with the parliamentary groups
Convention of neutrality
The role of the speaker and to a lesser degree deputy speakers in political matters differs from other members of parliament. The speaker is through many ways, though not by law, bound to carrying out his or her office act with neutrality. To reinforce this convention the speaker and deputy speakers have no vote in parliament when preciding over it, may not speak in plenary sessions when preciding over it, and are not members of sany legislative committees. Instead the role of the speaker is to represent and lead the institution of parliament. This role of representing parliament also demands neutrality on issues of partisan politics, though the rule is lesser for deputy speakers. This broad convention of neutrality also affords statements from the speaker a great deal of weight in their domain rivaled only by the president. It also means the speaker is not generally seen as a political actor.